Wall Street's six largest banks cut 15,000 jobs and posted $47 billion in profits. The CEOs stopped pretending.

"The six largest American banks shed 15,000 employees in the first quarter of 2026 while posting 47 billion dollars in collective profits, up 18 per cent year on year. The chief executives are no longer hedging. Jamie Dimon said artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs and that people should stop sticking their heads in the sand. Wells Fargo's Charlie Scharf said anyone who claims AI will not reduce headcount either does not know what they are talking about or is not being totally honest."

"JPMorgan Chase is spending 19.8 billion dollars on technology in 2026, up two billion from the previous year. The bank reports that productivity in divisions using AI has risen to approximately 6 per cent, double the rate before deployment. Operations roles have been trimmed by 4 per cent and support functions by 2 per cent, while positions tied to client engagement and revenue generation rose 4 per cent. Dimon described it as a huge redeployment."

"Bank of America's AI assistant Erica now saves the equivalent of 11,000 full-time positions. Nearly 90 per cent"

Six largest US banks cut about 15,000 employees in the first quarter of 2026 while reporting $47 billion in collective profits, up 18% year on year. Chief executives attributed workforce reductions to artificial intelligence and stopped downplaying the impact. JPMorgan reported technology spending of $19.8 billion in 2026 and said productivity in AI-using divisions rose to about 6%, double the pre-deployment rate. Operations roles fell about 4% and support functions fell about 2%, while client engagement and revenue generation roles rose about 4%. Bank of America said its AI assistant Erica saves the equivalent of 11,000 full-time positions. Other banks reported headcount declines and began disclosing AI productivity metrics in earnings calls.

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